


Sustained Me (Soulmate Inner Voice)

by Shatterpath



Series: The 13 AUs of Christmas 2017 [10]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-02-18 11:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13098897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: There were always the stories, the rumors and legends and fairytales of those with more than one voice that was that mysterious link to a stranger destined to be great things for them.PS: Now with additional chapters for 2018!For the week after Christmas, my author wrote for me,More about the Soulmates,





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've always been intrigued by the concept of the soulmate AU, but never had an idea that grabbed me. There were always too many questions about the larger world for me to really immerse myself in it.
> 
> And then my dear SPL posted this- http://singinprincess.tumblr.com/post/69251235004/chrismats-what-if-the-voice-inside-your-head-is
> 
> It was a lightning bolt of inspiration and exactly what I needed to launch this story.
> 
>  
> 
> **For the thirteen AUs of Christmas, my author wrote for me,**  
>  **A cheesy filk sung badly,**  
>  **Luthors who aren't evil,**  
>  **Sexy Space pirates,**  
>  **Amazing awful first date,**  
>  **Meeting at a fan con,**  
>  **Christmas at Hogwarts,**  
>  **Stranded with one bed,**  
>  **Little girls with crushes,**  
>  **A critically thought out ABOooooo!**  
>  **Soulmate inner voice,**

The voice wasn't always a romantic one. Time and again, soulmates meeting had proven that. Though there was a bizarre social stigma against the platonic connections, as though they were somehow not as good. Alex thought warmly of the odd twelve year old that had fallen into her family for refuge all those years ago and scoffed. Nothing could ever be as good as the sister who had come to her from tragedy to begin anew with the Danvers. 

It was worth sharing the pain of Kara's unfathomable losses, living through how that bright voice almost faded away, only an agonized whisper left in Alex's mind for months that felt like lifetimes until they were at last together and could heal.

That voice had never changed, forever that shy girlish voice, all pain and curiosity and earnestness. 

But that wasn't the end of the story.

There were always the stories, the rumors and legends and fairytales of those with more than one voice that was that mysterious link to a stranger destined to be great things for them. 

Alex had always heard that second, softer voice, a warm darkness to Kara's cheerful bright. Soft, low, oddly accented, laced with a sensuality she hadn't understood as a child, but with a completely delightful giggle that could always cheer her.

She felt so real, for what had to be a hallucination that wouldn't leave her.

As a small child, she'd talked about the two voices, how they were different, what each meant to her. No one knew quite what to make of it and the adults hemmed and hawed and made noises about maybe one was a figment of her imagination, an invisible friend who just seemed real. When Kara came along and Alex lit up with recognition, everyone was relieved… but Alex. Because that meant that the smoky, encouraging voice wasn't real.

And that shook her very sense of self.

Chocolate and woodfire and the tang of rich coffee on her tongue. Alex wished she had the words, the poet soul, to bring the voice to life. Was she merely some idealized woman? A fantasy made up by her own lonely mind? Every woman's voice became a tease as she grew older, from angsty teen to a harder adult. Through college and experiments to get to know herself and her world better, through fumbles in the dark with strangers and falling in love more than once.

That sweet, smoky voice never left her.

\----

The reality of the Soulmate Voice shaped humanity in both blatant and subtle ways. From endless debates on just what exactly the mental link between certain strangers were, to the religious implications to shysters doing their best to manipulate others.

Alex counted herself lucky to have avoided the worst of the pitfalls, for she was a scientist. Even with there being no way to quantify the Soulmate link, it was a truth and at worst, she'd had some philosophy to grapple with about that. She liked hard facts and truths, things she could prove, perhaps even more so because of her mystery voice.

Still, philosophy and invisible friends aside, her life went on. With PHD in hand, Alex went into research, picking apart genomes and biological systems and how the body and technology could come together. She was successful and smart and well-paid, living on top of the world.

Yet, some part of her was still empty.

Twice, Alex had witnessed Soulmates find each other, once on the other side of a crowd, only their happy voices carrying over the babble, another just steps away, the men's faces wreathing in absolute delight, holding each other close. Like all the other polite members of society, she did her best to leave them their privacy in such an intimate moment in such a public setting. 

Sometimes it felt like no one looked one another in the eye anymore.

\----

Alex still couldn't believe she'd gotten tapped for this stupid conference. When she got home, she was going to do something awful to Max like superglue him to his office chair, the bastard. Having finally escaped the stifling convention center, Alex shivered in the sharp bite of winter and stomped her way to the nearest coffee house. Right now she needed something chocolaty and full of caffeine, possibly laced with peppermint in lieu of alcohol. 

Of course, the place was packed, weary holiday shoppers and convention goers queued up like cattle to the slaughter. At least the place was cheery and pleasantly warm, not baking her unbearably in her warm coat. Sometimes it was the little things. Her phone buzzed and she instantly knew who it was by the beat of vibration against her hip.

"Hi Kara. I miss you too! Ugh, no. New York is nice enough, but I miss California. Of course you too."

In Alex's mind, Kara's adult voice was forever layered in with her half-matured twelve-year-old voice that had always been her mind's companion. Separate, yet intertwined with her dream woman and that low, soft laugh that made her breathless.

"Thanks, you too."

That sense of enormous possibility, of something so much bigger than herself washed over Alex like time slowing down.

That voice…

Desperately, she looked around at the crowd, but had no more clue than that wisp of voice, unsure if she really had heard it or not. People squawked and complained as Alex lunged at the counter, her eyes wild. The barista nearly jumped out of his skin as she verbally accosted him.

"Who was that? That just spoke? Please? I have to find her!"

And bless the rangy teen, he got it, eyes widening. "About your height, dark hair in a bun, red felt coat. Turned left at the door!"

He shouted the last clue at her, Alex waving wildly over her shoulder as she half dodged and half plowed her way through the crowd. She didn't feel the cold, didn't acknowledge her sister's voice calling out in curious alarm on the phone clenched tightly in her hand, didn't note the faces around her.

The voice. The encouraging, smoky voice that had lived between her ears her entire life, she was real!

A flash of red miraculously caught her eye… as the shapely female wearing it was stepping into a chauffeured car.

"No…" Alex whispered desperately and was in motion before she was even conscious of doing so.

People had died trying to catch their Soulmates. Oh, most of the stories were tabloid hooey, but sometimes, the need to connect to that wisp of voice would drive them to do something stupid.

Sort of like dodging a taxi that nearly winged Alex down, leaving a streak of fiery pain on the wrist that still clutched her phone. With a last, desperate burst of speed, she covered the distance opening up between herself and the car, and slammed both fists against the trunk. The car stopped so abruptly that she pretty much fell over said trunk and had to scramble to keep her feet under her.

"Have you lost your fucking mind, lady?"

"Please! Your passenger! I have to know!"

Whatever Alex had expected, hoped for, dreamed of, the vision that stepped out of the car froze her like a statue of ice. The woman was beautiful, well put together and stylish in a way that spoke of old money. Alex wouldn't have cared less if she'd been homeless in rags, all she cared about was that sweet, familiar voice washing over her at last.

"You… Oh… I was beginning to despair that you weren't real."

And Alex, panting and aching and still clinging to her phone where her other Soulmate was bleating questions and excitement, found herself caught up in the arms of a stranger who instantly felt like home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The monumental event from Lena's pov!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'd always wanted to know more about the Soulmate-verse created --somewhat on the fly-- last year. When the idea of doing another AU collection this year, the muses rolled up their sleeves and said…

By all accounts, Lena had been a happy child.

But all too soon, she realized that the quiet of only her own voice… was a bad thing.

Despite the ringing silence she was forever aware of, she set her stubborn little jaw and strove to be the best daughter and the best little sister, doing her best to ignore the pitying looks and empty platitudes.

Her family was staunch in their support, in making her their little princess and doing their best to fill her life up. She could have anything money could buy, the finest schooling, even a pony.

Only her big brother was really honest with her, and even that took time. At first, he was reluctant to talk about the teasing woman's voice and her lilting laugh that kept him going when dark moods would overtake him. But he grew to understand that somehow, his baby sister was soothed by his words. Then, he was going away to college a whole year early, ready to conquer the big, bad world, and Lena was going to be alone again.

Lena was miserable, sick with knowing her brother would be gone and the silence in her soul would be all the more acute.

It was summer solstice in 1992 and the heat in upstate New York was intense, a looming, suffocating presence just beyond the heavy walls of the grand house on the family estate. Lena felt like she was drained out, hollow and exhausted to her bones, heavier and more aware of the world than any nine and a half year old should ever be.

Night closed in, soft and weary on the heels of the longest day of the year and still Lena wallowed. She had been trying so hard to be a big girl for her family, but in the quiet of her room, she was just small and sad. 

And so, so lonely.

Weary of the false cool of the air conditioning system, Lena defied the house rule and opened the window to the sounds of the night. Beyond the screen, grateful nocturnal insects sang and scrabbled for their meals in the relative coolness. To their song, she finally dozed off.

A song.

A joyful lilt of voice carried to her, rich and warm and sweet. Not a tune, nor words she could speak back, just a murmur, a loving hum. In that soft song, a peace like the falling of night over the longest day of the year settled over Lena, making her feel that at long last, she could breathe deep.

Snapping awake, heart pounding with anticipation, fear, need; she didn't know what, Lena looked around wildly, seeing only her familiar room in the shadows, hearing a warm, encouraging chuckle between her ears. She, the connection Lena had so desperately hoped for, had found a lonely child at last.

Lena remembered that day vividly, screaming shrilly for her family, bawling and hiccupping and incoherently babbling, scaring them half to death as they rushed to her. It had taken some time to calm her enough to figure out what the hysteria was about, longer still to convince them that she had at last heard her Soulmate.

The touch of mind, soul, heart had general rules; Soulmates were close in age, a 50/50 breakdown to pairings that were opposite or same sex, and romantic. Usually. There were always exceptions to those generalities, no matter that they were stigmatized in one way or the other. There were some whose Soulmate was a sibling or dear friend, the link missing the urgency of romance, there were the rarer pairs with an age gap, and even the cryptid few who heard not one, but two voices that were to be theirs.

Lena had thought it all madness, until that hot summer night and the beautiful voice that came to her.

It took some time to realize a few things. One, her Soulmate Voice was clearly an adult. Somewhere in the world a newborn child had reached out to her, but it would be a very long time before Lena would find her. In the beginning, that devastated her, but in time, she found a strength in maximizing her years alone, to be the best person she could be. For herself, and for the sweet voice who became her heart.

Oh, but the waiting was hard.

She made the mistake of telling the head mean girl, who she stupidly thought actually liked her, about the years of silence and the sudden appearance of her Voice. Veronica turned her into a laughingstock at school, the butt of endless jokes about being a pervert with a baby for a Soulmate. From then on, she stayed mum on the subject, kept the lovely singing and the soft murmurings to herself.

She didn't miss that school, nor ask what Mom and Lex must have said to those involved in the bullying.

Lex had gone to college and met a hulking, shy football player from rural Kansas and a little town honestly called Smallville. And Clark had introduced Lex to his Soulmate, Lois, as gregarious and energetic as Clark was quiet and introverted.

She was also the Voice in Lex's mind, and he'd have thought he'd gone insane if she hadn't lit up in visceral delight and hugged him until he thought his neck would snap. Lois had thought she was out of her mind, two male Voices, similar yet completely distinct, who had kept her company all her life. Even the awkwardness of Clark and Lex couldn't dampen her utter delight in their being a complete set.

The random weirdness between the two young men only upset their hitting it off like best friends sometimes. When they were being dumb, Lois simply called them out on it and smoothed over ruffled feathers with accurate observations and a sharp wit. She was perfectly suited for her career as a reporter.

Lena adored Lois from the moment they met. She liked to tease the Luthor siblings about being over the top, using her whip-quick humor to soothe them. That trio were staunch in their support of Lena and her long wait.

Sixteen years crept by.

Then twenty.

Then twenty-five.

And still, Lena waited.

 

\----

"Did you have those reports?"

The long phone call was getting on Lena's nerves. Honestly, it was so hard to find good, reliable help! They were poached away as fast as she could find them. She was going to have to find a way to buy out Edge just to keep from having to break in new people every time there was a crisis. 

With effort, Lena was able to muddle through the last of her business and finally get off the phone. The irritable stress headache would take longer to shake off, but nothing she wasn't accustomed to. 

Before she dove into any more business, she needed a good cup of coffee. She was suddenly craving something chocolaty and full of caffeine, possibly laced with peppermint in lieu of alcohol. Odd. Must be the holiday spirit.

Luckily, she was near the convention center and she knew the best coffee in three boroughs was just around the corner. It would be a madhouse, but worth it. Lowering the privacy window separating her from her driver, she spoke up. "Edward? Could you drop me off on the corner? I'm dying for a cup of coffee."

"Sure thing."

In a stroke of luck, a cab pulled out and Edward was able to slip the towncar into the space. Even better, she was just a few parking spaces from the door! Native New Yorker or no, who wanted to stomp around in the wet and cold if they didn't have to? While she grabbed her purse and shoved her phone into it, Edward zipped around the car to get her door. She was used to the routine, to Edward and his staff watching her back to the best of their considerable abilities. 

"Your usual black?" she teased her companion and he gave her a wry look. "Or are you going to be adventurous for the holidays?"

"If you insist, I'll take one of those peppermint roasts," Edward called after her and Lena laughed in delight at the byplay. He was a good egg and a fantastic employee.

Her lucky day continued when Lena found herself just ahead of a pack of exhausted patrons that were dressed for the convention center. The staff in the coffee house went into overdrive as the line piled up and Lena placed her order with the teenage kid at the counter. She checked her phone while she waited with the handful of other patrons, tapping out replies to a couple of messages from her assistant. 

Soon enough, the barista caught her eye and handed over the pair of paper cups, piping hot. The quirk of practiced and drained smile came with a matching statement. "Have a nice holiday."

Every bit as distracted and weary, Lena flashed a quick grin even as her mind was elsewhere, but remained polite. "Thanks, you too." 

Edward had the door open and ready as she handed his cup over and climbed into the car. In moments they were both settled in and the towncar pulled smoothly into the street. Just another day in the life of, Lena thought wryly to herself.

And nearly jumped out of her skin when something smacked into the trunk behind her. Startled, she twisted around even as Edward slammed to a halt and was out of the driver's seat. There was… a woman there, half collapsed against the rear of the car. What was going on?

"Have you lost your fucking mind, lady?" Edward bellowed as Lena tried to calm her racing heart. Honestly, she was getting so jumpy today! Her concentration was shot and…

And…

And time felt like it was slowing around her, a breathless anticipation almost dizzying between her ears and under her sternum.

"Please! Your passenger! I have to know!"

Twenty-five and a half years ago, a song had come to Lena's soul. A warm laugh, a loving, supportive presence wrapped in a sweet, womanly voice. Shocked to her bones, Lena scrambled for the door and stepped into the street where traffic moved around them as best it could. The stranger stared at her in wonder, brown eyes wide, weakly trying to get her balance back.

"You…" Lena breathed out reverently and was already in motion. "Oh… I was beginning to despair that you weren't real."

And at long last, she could hold her, feel the fullness of completion settle the long, long wait she'd endured for this wonderful moment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised! More chapters before the end of the year. :)

Edward had worked for the Luthors for a very long time. They could be picky, and were ruthless about their privacy, but true loyalty was richly rewarded. Not merely in monetary assets, but in respect. It was that which kept Edward loyal. Respect was far too often overlooked in any service industry. 

The Luthor family, while a little eccentric, were pretty good folk, particularly for old money. They had as much use for the rich and lazy as their staff did, which wasn't much. 

And everyone had a particular fondness for the youngest Luthor.

So Edward instantly picked up on what was happening, the slack-jaw awe that swept away all of Lena's aplomb, her carefully constructed social armor. The young woman who had assaulted the car stared and stared, her pretty face a riot of open delight.

"Please ma'ams," Edward begged gently, quite unsure they were even aware of his speaking. "Get in the car so that I can get you somewhere safe."

Thankfully, his familiar voice registered in Lena's muddled brain and she barely let up in clinging to her mystery Soulmate so that they half fell into the back of the car. That was good enough for Edward and he quickly checked to make sure the stranger hadn't dropped anything, finding a lanyard and plastic tags on the asphalt where she'd been hanging onto the trunk. He tossed them into the backseat and scooped up an errant foot so that he could firmly shut the door and scramble behind the wheel once again.

Alex only dimly noted someone speaking, a hand giving her foot a little shove and closing the car door to block out the noisy city. Right now she could be surrounded by sharks and barely be aware.

"I found you," she whispered and giggled like a toddler, her eyes welling up with tears. "I found you."

"Don't cry," Lena whispered back, uncaring that she was sprawled inelegantly across the seat, half under the stranger who was her heart. "Please, my darling, we're together now. Oh, I've waited for you for so, so long. Look at how beautiful you are."

Alex wallowed in the clarity voice that had always been her companion, warm and encouraging as it had always been. An elegant fingertip traced around her eye socket, the red-painted smile growing until it turned the green-eyed woman's face to art. 

"Alex," she said harshly and had to swallow and blink away the choking emotion a bit. "I'm Alex."

"Lena."

"Gosh, that's a beautiful name." The tame not-cuss word reminded Alex of her other Voice, the grownup version of which was still bleating from her poor phone. She barely noted the crack on the glass face as she raised the thing to her ear. "Kara. Kara, I found her. I found her, she's real. I'm in her car right now. How soon can you get here? I'm freaking out."

There was a definite edge of hysteria in Alex's voice and Lena's response was visceral and instinctual. She hugged her close, humming gently and pressing soft kisses to Alex's skin. Sniffling, Alex dimly heard Kara yell, "I'm on my way!" She was distracted in stroking Lena's neck and back, soaking up the living heat of her.

For the first time in either of their lives, the quiet was a gentle thing, no longer an emptiness that reminded them that they were missing the other. Alex dropped the phone and squirmed around to resituated her body a bit less awkwardly, to get closer to those enticing eyes and that arresting smile. They rested forehead to forehead, just breathing together, murmuring the other's name.

Moments or a lifetime could have passed.

Not wanting to invade Lena's privacy, Edward sent a message to her assistant that she was entirely unavailable for the foreseeable future and to start accommodating accordingly. Hopefully that wouldn't start too many rumors.

It took a long while for any semblance of reality to assert itself, but it came in the form of cramping muscles in Alex's left arm and leg, where she had been bracing herself against the car floor. 

"Ow, we need to rearrange, Lena."

"Oh, darling, of course."

With the initial haze of meeting waning, the two women settled side by side and eyed each other shyly. When Lena gingerly took Alex's right hand in hers, she jumped at the hiss of pain. Frankly, Alex looked as surprised. "Oh, I forgot about that. A taxi hit me."

Before Lena could say a word, she was entranced silent by those dark, intense eyes.

"I had to catch you."

The force of that gaze was almost too much and Lena acted without thinking, pressing in to kiss Alex firmly. The whimper she earned assured her that she was welcome. It was awkward and rushed, their noses bumping, mouths uncoordinated.

Neither cared in the slightest. Giggling, they turned a bit more to the other, met halfway.

"Oh Lena…"

"Alex…"

Time and location faded away as they explored, grew lost in the softness of the other, the whole they made. Eventually, Lena distantly noted that the car had fallen still and there was a knocking at the window she really hoped was Edward.

"I had no idea it could be like this," Alex said wonderingly as the kissing wound down, each of them warm and happy. Even as part of Lena's muddy brain pondered that comment, Edward deemed it safe to open the door to reveal an empty drop off area sealed at both ends with roll-down doors.

"Welcome home, ma'ams."

It was only then that Lena realized she was indeed in the familiar drop off zone of her condo building. Somehow the new Soulmates strung together enough brain cells to gather their things and climb out, sticking close. Somewhat helplessly, Lena tried to focus, speaking somewhat helplessly at Edward. "I should… I need…"

His gentle smile calmed her, as did the composure of his tone. "Lena, I texted Jess that you weren't to be disturbed for anything. You let her know more when you're ready. Take some time for yourself and your lovely lady."

Sniffling, Lena shocked them both by lunging at him with a quick, neck-cracking hug before she dragged a stupidly grinning Alex away. For all that Edward had been working for the Luthors for most of his adult life, none of them had ever been… demonstrative. Grinning to himself, Edward got back in the car and vacated the private drop off garage so that the next tenant could use it when needed. 

Lena had never been so thankful for the extremely sophisticated security system that minimized how much she had to do to get into her sanctuary. Alex blinked a little when Lena took a step to the right, indicating to the software behind the cameras that she was okay and her companion was not a threat. A hand on the thick push-bar that was actually a biometric lock had the door swinging open and they were isolated away from the world for as long as they wanted to be.

For a long moment, the strangers watched one another, drinking in details unnoticed in the shock of connection. Alex saw a woman impeccably put together, makeup movie-star flawless, the woolen skirt and coat smooth and expensive, silk shirt snowy white. She also saw a woman completely flustered, stripped of her cool 'head bitch in charge' energy, left bare to a stranger. Her red-painted lips were also mussed, and that gave Alex a deep thrill.

Lena saw a deep well of carefully contained energy that blazed from those deep, dark eyes. Those eyes were sharp, intelligent and deeply empathetic. Darkly red hair cut into a stylish bob was disheveling into loose waves after a clearly long day. The low-key middle-corporate clothes and terribly understated makeup spoke of being forced to conform, even as she chafed against it. Hints of her own signature red blending into near-nude lip gloss gave Lena a buzz of possessiveness.

Both of them were feeling the drain of the intense brain chemistry their long awaited meeting had wrought, Alex actually wavering on her feet. Lena didn't resist moving to wrap her in a tight hug, breathing in the smells of her.

"Will you lie down with me?" she asked softly. "Sleep beside me? I couldn't bear to be apart from you."

Alex smiled and nuzzled Lena's dark hair, still carefully coiffed into a neat bun. "I couldn't bear to be apart from you either."

They both felt the energy of _more_ and _now_ , but the sensory rush of closeness, it was be enough. It would always be more than enough.

Part of Alex noted the warm, modern opulence of her surroundings, but it didn't really register in the moment. After clinging tight for long moments, Lena reluctantly let go and took Alex's hand to lead her down a hallway to a sprawling bedroom. Sunset was falling over Manhattan, the winter sky a hazy lightshow behind the geometric forest of buildings sparkling with electric light.

"Wow," Alex breathed and Lena paused to appreciate the view she rarely noticed anymore.

"It's beautiful."

Eyes drawn from the beauty beyond the glass to the beauty at her side, Alex's smile went soft. "She is."

The intimate tone brought Lena's gaze around, her cheeks pinking bashfully. "I think you're beautiful too. Can I offer you something soft to sleep in?"

"That would be great."

It was hard to separate, even to clean up and change. Alex finished first, looking around the enormous space with something like wonder. Who was this woman? Part of her was curious, but more of her didn't care. Making a happy puppy sound, she crawled into the huge bed and snuggled into the fine bedding. The enticing smirk and one eye peering over the curve of pillow nearly took Lena's breath away as she joined her. And open hand drew her over to press into the lanky strength of her Soulmate, their body heat mixing like their paired sighs.

But some part of Lena couldn't relax. She was entwined with her Soulmate, listening to the sound of her breathing, the subtle scents of her imprinting on her brain, the brown eyes drooping towards sleep. Some part of the ache of waiting wouldn't leave her, even now.

"Alex?" she whispered, relishing the name and the way those eyes fluttered to attention. The wordless hum of acknowledgement was so like the Voice in her mind that for a moment, Lena could barely breathe.

Needing a moment to compose herself, Lena closed her eyes and shifted closer to once more kiss that soft, expressive mouth, tasting Alex's lazy smile.

"Alex?"

Once more, Alex hummed tenderly, petting over the loose strands of mahogany hair.

"Will you sing to me?"

Confused, Alex hesitated, but knew she could never refuse this sweet woman anything. After clearing her throat a bit self-consciously, she quietly sang the bridge to one of her favorite eighties songs. The awe in Lena's green eyes was enrapturing.

"It was summer solstice of 1992," Lena whispered hoarsely around the knot in her throat as she traced a gentle finger around one bright brown eye. "And you woke me with a song. And I was never alone again. Oh Alex…"

Sobbing brokenly, Lena clung to her Soulmate as though she might disappear, reassured by her touch and the soft murmur of her voice until sleep gently took them both.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together at last!

Alex woke suddenly, making Lena snort awake, blinking blearily. Between her ears Alex could feel Kara's excited giggling, the cadence of her Soul-Voice hyperactive and gleefully urgent.

"I-- we, have to get to the airport."

Even as Lena was still shaking off sleep, Alex kissed her hard and sprang from the bed to race off. More leisurely, Lena followed suit, balefully eyeing the clock that read 4:21 and gently finger-combing out her hair. 

"Which one?" she asked Alex, who paused in her tapping at her poor phone. She looked confused, then determined, muttering to herself. 

"Oh thank your Voice, Kara, you remembered." Looking up, she grinned blindingly at her Soulmate and swept her into a loose hug. "We need to get to JFK, ASAP."

Completely confused, but ready to follow this charismatic stranger to the moon if necessary, Lena nodded. "Okay. Um, shoes and warm clothes and coffee. Are you as hungry as I am?"

"Umm, yes? Can it wait until after we get Kara?"

Kara. That rang a bell. The person on the phone when they'd finally met and clearly very important to Alex. 

Alex, who was ready to race into the night barefoot and dressed in little more than a t-shirt and thin cotton pants, paused and nearly danced with impatience. Her urgency was oddly adorable.

"I'll find you some clean socks," she teased fondly and Alex smiled lovingly at her.

"You're the best, I can tell already."

With the fancy coffee machine filling a travel mug, they raced off to Lena's closet, a largish space cramped with her extensive wardrobe.

"Wow," Alex marveled at the tall space, clothing hung on rungs two and even three high, a sturdy library ladder giving access to the upper levels. "This place must have cost you a fortune."

That gave Lena pause. They were strangers to one another, no matter the connection they had been destined for all this time.

"Well, yes, actually."

To Lena's astonishment, Alex merely grinned at her and quipped, "cool."

They stole surreptitious glances at one another as they dressed warmly, taking in a few details about one another's shapes and shades. 

"Are you sure we can get a cab at this hour?" Alex questioned as she stood from putting her shoes on.

"Alex, this is the city that never sleeps. A cab will be no problem."

Even at 4:40 in the morning, the pace of New York was notable, the populace gearing up for a long workday. Winter was making itself known, an icy breeze twining amidst the skyscrapers. While the view was impressive, Alex was happy to climb into a yellow cab behind her Soulmate and try and breathe warmth back into her bare hands.

While the smart parts of Lena's brain knew she should ask questions, be wary for herself, not be trusting… the part of her forever in love with the Voice in her mind just couldn't care less. She had found her destiny and nothing else mattered. 

With a trusting, needy sound, she sleepily twisted to lay against Alex's torso and nose into her neck. Strong hands cradled her back and head, the soft strains of that beautiful voice humming the most loving of balms, and Lena slept once more.

The second waking was even better, wrapped snugly into Alex's torso and her voice murmuring her name over and over again between kisses to her hair. The way the younger woman was literally trembling with eagerness made Lena wonder that she'd been able to sleep at all.

"You're excited," Lena teased gently, wallowing in the softness of that dark gaze and the stretch of delighted smile. 

"I've waited my whole life for this."

Fate must have been looking out for them, for the cab slipped through the growing congestion and into the pickup area. Before the vehicle had even fully stopped, Alex swiped her card through the slot, tacked on a nice tip and was out the door, dragging Lena with her. She was tenacious and with a lot of power in her lanky, broad-shouldered frame. Several people that were shouldered aside glowered, but relented when they saw the lovesick adoration plastered all over Lena's face.

Everyone knew what new Soulmates looked like.

Even as the pair made their way against the flow of foot traffic, something finally occurred to Lena. They were here to pick someone up. Which meant that Alex was someplace far enough from her hometown that a plane was needed. She wasn't exactly certain how she felt about that. Oh, intellectually, she knew that the possibility of her Soulmate being a local were slim to none, but now that the reality was here…

Still, the sheer urgency in Alex was odd. 

Amusing and adorable, but still a bit odd… and slightly alarming, though certainly it was running through Lena's mind how excited and nervous she was going to be to introduce Alex to her small circle of intimates…

The tall blonde with a smile that could light up Manhattan squealed her Soulmate's name and Alex was suddenly jerked out of Lena's grasp, the loss of contact as jarring as having a tooth yanked out. The stranger in the ratty head-rag was certainly no stranger, Alex returning the crushing hug with all her strength.

Voice alight with delight, the stranger said in a hushed voice, "is that her? God, she's gorgeous!" Well, she tried to undertone anyway. That tight, excited stage whisper carried. "Jeez, Alex you're shaking like you're half frozen!"

"I found her," Alex gasped and the draining seconds of separation faded as she desperately craned her head around to find Lena, reach for her. "Kara, Kara, I found her!"

The overwhelming power of what had transpired really settled into Alex's brain and bones then. Tugging Lena close, she clung to a hand of each and stared and stared.

"Both of you," Alex breathed out in wonder and her expression suddenly twisted to despair, voice breaking on a sob. "I was starting to wonder if I wasn't really crazy after all…"

Kara and Lena bumped arms lunging in to wrap Alex in a suffocating hug, Kara ending up with her longer reach around both of them, their heads nestled close while Alex wept out a lifetime of stress.

"Both of you," she kept whispering as though repeating the words would make it all more real, chase away a lifetime of doubts. She rubbed her head and cheeks into theirs, kissed all over their faces, adding in Lena's lush mouth to her explorations.

Alex had always been restless, driven and stubborn. She'd thought herself moon-mad, the broody wildcard to Kara's sunny disposition, forever hungry and unsatisfied. But at last, these two amazing women were her opposite moons; bright, gregarious Kara and dark, quiet Lena. For the first time in Alex's restless, driven, stubborn life, she felt balanced. Calm. At peace.

For the first time since they'd met as half-grown adolescents, Kara felt a lifetime of tension drain out of Alex. All she'd ever wanted for her terrier of a Soulmate was peace and love, and at last, she had found her missing piece.

Lena felt the absolute surety of belonging and was bewildered that this Kara's presence wasn't disrupting that. But why? Then it hit her like a thunderbolt and she squirmed around in Kara's rib-creaking grip. Hooking a finger under Alex's chin, she tipped her teary face up, kissing away the wetness.

"Alex? Do you have two Soulmates?"

For a moment, all the doubts were back, writ large in those expressive brown eyes. Then Alex swallowed hard and brightened at Lena's somewhat bewildered smile.

"You're not going to believe this, but my brother is part of a trio too. What are the odds?"

By the paired looks of shock on Alex and Kara's faces, they understood the sheer improbability of what Lena had just said. Luckily, no one in the busy airport seemed to pay them any mind, the polite members of society habitually turning their attention away. The last thing Lena wanted was her famous name bringing undue attention to this. That worry burned through the bewilderment of all the revelations and she tugged at the younger women. 

"Come on, we should get your bag and find somewhere quiet to process."

Neither sister resisted the tug on their hands as Lena led them away and Kara's voice was amused and bewildered. "Oh, I'm good. It's just me."

That made Alex immediately tease her, an edge of appalled in her voice. "Kara, did you really race here in paint-spattered clothes… and flip flops?"

"Doy," Kara snorted sassily as Lena paused in her pulling to echo Alex's expression. "I was restless as hell yesterday, which is obvious why now, and was painting all night, because you know that's what I do when I get all buzzy, so I grabbed my wallet and messenger bag. Oh, and my toothbrush, because priorities."

She proudly pulled said toothbrush from the chest pocket of her overalls and grinned like a kid. Nonplussed, the new Soulmates blinked at her for a moment before Alex looked alarmed. "Kara, were you painting? Oh no!"

Pulling away her hands, Kara waved them around dramatically. "Alex, you are only going to find her once, fuck the painting!"

It was too much for a baffled Lena and her snerk of humor dissolved into gales of laughter. Whoever these chaotic pair were, they were delightful. 

Dragging the pair into an overpriced fine goods store, Lena insisted on getting both into thick socks and shearling boots oiled up to combat the freezing wet outside. They spluttered over the cost, but were clearly far happier with their toes warmed up. On the way out to get another cab, Kara paused to buy a thick, tacky 'I <3 NY' hoodie to snuggle into.

There was a syrupy candy coating of the surreal to the whole morning, the lightening of the leaden sky doing nothing to dispel the feeling. Maybe caring for a more mundane need could settle them? A query after hunger had the pair giving Lena such big puppy eyes they looked like starving waifs. It was ridiculously adorable. Thankfully, she was offhandedly familiar with the hotels close in to the airport and knew a good breakfast buffet that was reasonably close to her standards.

And that was how Lena found herself in a booth overlooking the busy, snowy streets around JFK Airport across the table from Kara while Alex was stuck at the fresh omelet station, tapping at her cracked phone. Discomfited, but so, so curious, Lena's gaze kept alighting on Kara, skittering away to Alex to soak up the soothing presence of her. 

"You're a painter?" she finally managed to say and nearly face-palmed at her awkwardness. 

Mid-chew, Kara paused and bizarrely, took a deep breath, her own gaze evasive, before a torrent of words escaped her. "I do construction and paint. Well, the construction mostly, because I'm sorta hyper and I hate being cooped up, but sometimes I have to pull out my canvases and be a nerdy artist. Luckily, my big sis is the awesomest and I can flake out sometimes and she makes sure I don't starve."

The pause took Lena off guard, because she wasn't entirely certain Kara had breathed at all in there. The rush of relief at 'big sis' startled her, but really, she knew nothing of these two. After a moment, the blonde started talking again, but more subdued now. 

"She's also the smartest and set up an emergency fund years ago for just this event. So the ticket was gaggingly expensive, but who cares! We're all together now."

The forced cheer there at the end was the first time Lena felt a real sense of connection to this new stranger in her life. After a moment, she forced herself to say something, only able to come up with, "that's some smart forecasting."

Unsurprisingly, complimenting her Soulmate made Kara beam happily. "Right? You got yourself the best in Alex."

Despite all the awkwardness, Lena had to return the smile.


	5. Chapter 5

With the omelet plate balanced on her forearm above her larger plate, Alex finally joined them, eyes still on her phone. In the manner of people long familiar with one another, Kara's questioning expression left no need for words.

"Ugh, it's Sara, of course," Alex explained with exasperation. "And now Laurel's jumped in. Brats"

"We belong to a support group for platonic Soulmates," Kara explained to Lena even as the phone hummed urgently. "The Lance sisters love us. And vice versa, but Alex would never admit it."

"No comment," Alex fired back dryly and lashed out to smack Kara's reaching hand. "Do not answer that. I'm not letting Sara squeal at me and make dirty jokes. She'll get her chance soon enough. How did she even know?"

"Umm, that would be me."

"Kara!"

"I wanted someone to squee at! And I knew you'd murder me if I told Mom! Who you'd better not wait too long to tell."

Clearly uncomfortable about that topic, Alex did her best to deflect. "This city is nuts. Last time I was here at least it was fall and not so hot."

Soaking everything up, Lena took a moment to realize that she was being included indirectly, but never got a chance to respond when Kara whined, "or cold!"

"And I could have done without the hurricane drive-by for sure," Alex continued on blithely and chowed down a huge bite of waffle. "Still, I would have moved here for work if I'd gotten that job I wanted so bad."

"Yeah, you were really bummed about that."

A niggling suspicion crept into Lena's mind, making Alex's attention instantly shift. "What company?" she asked so very quietly, deepening Alex's curiosity.

"That big tech conglomerate that works in agriculture and medical too, which is what had me wanting to work for them in the first place. What was that family name we had a giggle over, Kar?"

"Luxor."

"No, dork, that's that hotel you love in Vegas."

"Luthor," Lena corrected quietly, and they both laughed and looked delighted.

"Luthor! That was it!" Alex crowed happily and her delight left Lena feeling lovesick all over again. "I got all the way to the big man himself, I remember, because we got a kick out of our near-identical names. He was really smart and intimidating, but I didn't mind because at least he's not a sleaze like Max Lord."

The eye roll spoke volumes, turning to a laugh at Kara's gagging noise.

"Hey, at least the money's good and I'm sorta close to my specialty, right?"

"Bleah. He's a jerk."

It finally clicked then, that Lena's quiet had become loaded and Alex reached out to coax her chin around with gentle fingers. The striking green eyes were troubled and it made her heart ache.

"What is it?"

The sweet gentleness choked Lena up once more and she made no attempt to keep her hands to herself, stroking Alex's face. "So…" she had to clear her tight throat around the press of tears. "We did almost meet before yesterday."

"You work for LuthorCorp?"

"Um… my full name is Lena Kieran Luthor. Lex is my older brother."

For a long moment, Alex's expression was comically shocked, Kara frozen in mid-chew. It was an inadvertent reminder of a lifetime of being the 'other'. Great riches and prestige brought great benefits, but also great loneliness. Alex could see that in her Soulmate's face, echoed in the mournful hum in her mind.

Twisting in the booth and nearly sending waffles and coffee mugs flying, Alex clamped onto her new Soulmate in a suffocating hug that was pure tenderness. "You really are my perfect woman," she murmured sweetly. "I bet you're smart as hell too, I just know it. Oh please tell me that you're more than a suit? Not that I care, because I'd follow you to the ends of the Earth even if you were, what, like a circus performer or folk singer or something weird."

The wet huff of amusement was a vulnerable thing, cradled safely just as Lena was, in Alex's arms. "Well, I'm a suit much of the time, but my biggest love is the same as my brother's. We're both engineers."

Alex's incoherent noise was utter delight, echoed by Kara's snort and a teasing, "More nerds." 

Half talking over her sister's sassing, Alex pulled away a bit to grin wildly into Lena's face. "I'm a bioengineer! This keeps getting better and better!"

"I'm poaching you from LordTech," Lena said around another wet huff. "Effective immediately. Just like you said about circus performers and folk singers, I wouldn't care if you flew kites or made toothpick art, I'll follow you anywhere. Think we can find a middle ground?"

"Poach away. I'd much rather be working to better medical science than the toxin research I'm doing now. And of course we'll find a middle ground, love." Resting their foreheads together, Alex's voice became whisper gentle, her eyes deep and dark and lovingly soft. "I'm Alexandra Danvers. Pleased to meet you, Lena Kieran Luthor."

Smitten by her, Lena whispered back, "that's a beautiful name."

"You too, love."

Worn out, the trio got though breakfast while they waited for Edward the driver to get through traffic. In fact, they were nearly asleep when his call finally came and they could toddle out into the cold. To Lena's gratitude and sweet amusement, Alex snuggled into her, Kara curling up in a surprisingly small ball to plunk her head in Alex's lap and both were passed out asleep before the car was underway. That gave her a chance to call Jess and see what was happening in her normal life, thrown to the side in the joy and chaos of finding her Soulmate. And Jess, bless her heart, treated the call as just another workday. Lena accepted the succor of normalcy until they were winding down and the mood relaxed.

"She's amazing," she heard herself say softly and even over a wireless phone call, she could hear Jess gentle away from work things.

"I couldn't imagine anything else would be your other half."

Looking at where the Danvers sisters sprawled out over one another and herself, Lena's laugh was a soft thing. "Well, you're not going to believe this but…"

Unloading the whole story was cathartic, made it seem more real. Jess' familiar calm and the trust the two held for one another was a welcome safety zone. She felt far more settled in her skin as the conversation naturally wound down.

"Thank you for the ear, Jess, I really appreciate it."

"Any time, Lena. Fate even showed some good timing with it being slow for the holidays so that you get some breathing room with your new family. Take a few days, and I'll call you on the twenty-seventh to catch up and get things rescheduled."

"You're a lifesaver."

"That's what I'm here for. Take care and Merry Christmas, Lena."

Returning the sentiment, Lena hung up and just relaxed into the car's leather upholstery for a long moment. Then she came to a decision and tapped the intercom. "Edward? Since traffic is a bear anyway, can we just forgo the condo and head for the estate? Suddenly, being in the city isn't holding much appeal."

In his familiar voice, the smile was quite clear. "Of course. Consider it done."

Now, she had some emergency Christmas shopping to do. Calling ahead to the trusted staff out at the estate didn't take long and Lena was satisfied that things would be taken care of while they sat in the endless traffic of a weekday morning of New York City. She had just settled in to enjoy Alex's boneless weight and doze off herself when she had to smile over the familiar little tune that signaled a call she was suddenly eager to take. Greeting her older brother, she put him on speaker and listened to him ramble on about arrival times and rant about work, but mostly enjoying playing with Alex's soft hair.

"You're distracted," Lex finally grumbled and Lena just chuckled at him.

"I'm just wondering what you got me for Christmas."

"Ruthless."

The banter was as familiar as air to them both, a safe zone for their natural competitiveness so that they didn't turn on one another.

"Lex, do you remember interviewing an Alex Danvers years back?" 

"Danvers," he mused thoughtfully. "Danvers. Yeah, I remember her, the name thing and all. Why?"

The goofy grin spread over her face and reflected in her voice. "You're not going to believe this, but she's my Soulmate."

"What?" Lex shrieked about two octaves higher than he really should have been able to manage and set his sister to laughing over his words. "Are you shitting me?"

"No! It's surreal right?"

"Fucking hell, I always wondered what happened to her, she was so goddamn smart and mouthy and just what a budding lab needed and I only passed her over because she didn't have the experience for that project…" his ranting dropped off abruptly and when Lex spoke again, his tone was achingly gentle, threaded with regret. "Oh Mouse… she's your Soulmate."

There had been so many tears since Alex had smacked her fists into the back of this very car and connected their lives forever, but Lena found a few more. When her phone flickered a notification to add video to the call, Lena eagerly accepted and drank up Lex's emotional expression. 

"She is. And she's even more amazing than you remember. It happened when it was supposed to, just like it does for everybody. Don't worry about Alex, she seems to have done just fine on her own. Though she's working for Max Lord--" Lex made the same inarticulate sound of rage she had earlier-- "and we need to remedy that immediately."

"Hell yes we do!" he barked and then went gleeful once more. "You found your Soulmate! Is that her draped all over you?"

"Yes."

Turning her phone to show the limp dogpile of Danvers sisters, she heard Lex admire, "a redhead. Sexy! Who's the blonde?"

Bringing the camera back to her own face, Lena realized she was going to have to explain this. A lot. Starting, appropriately enough, with her big brother, who knew the situation well. "That's her sister, Kara. Um, you're not going to believe this, Lex, but she's like Lois. I'm the second Soulmate."

The look of absolute astonishment on his face was truly priceless.


	6. Chapter 6

Waking to the physical warmth and comfort that matched the voices in her mind was Alex's new favorite thing. Though the crick in her neck she could do without.

Groaning, she forced herself to half straighten up from where she had slouched into Lena's softness and smiled at how the other woman had passed out in open-mouthed abandon, no trace of the cool, aloof socialite in evidence. To her shock, the city beyond the windows had vanished, to be replaced by the flash of dark green and white against a leaden sky.

"Kara," she urged and shook her sister's shoulder. "Get up. We're out in the country."

Always a sloth after an all-nighter, Kara whined and grumbled as she dragged herself into a semi-upright position and tried to get everything functioning again. Even worried about what the hell was going on, Alex nonetheless coaxed Lena away from her uncomfortable position smashed into the corner of the seat to lie against her to be cradled safely. Murmuring wordlessly, she sounded so much like her Voice in Alex's mind that it left her a little shook up.

Spotting the intercom button, she twisted a leg up to brace Lena and reached out to press it. "Hello?"

"Yes Miss?"

He sounded familiar, at least there was that. "Um, where are we?"

"We've just passed through Peekskill and should arrive at the estate within the next quarter hour or so."

"Okay, but why?"

"Miss Lena thought some peace and quiet away from the city might be beneficial to all parties. Besides, it's nearly Christmas."

It wasn't as much of an explanation as Alex would have wanted, but there was no reason to panic… right?

"Hey, I remember your voice from yesterday. Thank you for taking care of us."

No reason to not be polite to your abductors, right? When Edward spoke again, the smile in his voice was clear. "My pleasure, Miss. I'm very glad you found one another safely."

"Thanks. Me too. Um, my things are still back at my hotel. I hadn't even thought about that until now. I really need to get on that."

"I'll get your key when we arrive and take care of it personally."

"You don't have--"

"Yes, Miss, I really do. Welcome to the family."

Nonplussed, Alex stared at the dividing panel that isolated them away from Edward and tried to absorb what was going on around her.

The countryside was beautiful, thick with pristine snow, swathes of forest and dotted with towns and farms. Civilization was just starting to return when the towncar slowed, turned and stopped, a beautifully wrought stone and cast iron wall stretching away to either side. Moments later they passed through a rolling gate and the drive continued. It didn't look any different from the emptier parts of the drive, save a notable lack of buildings. Great trees arched over the road and blanketed horses roamed the snowy fields. 

"Wow," Kara finally verbalized and snuggled into the rest of her trio. "I saw the wall and gate. You don't think all of this is the estate, do you?"

Looking around the understated but expensive interior with plenty of tech discretely built in, Alex contemplated that they'd driven through the gate like ten minutes ago and still, there was only snowy fields and trees all around them. Before she could formulate an answer, the car slowed and turned up a rise and the trees opened to a beautiful high spot looking over a good-sized lake ringed with snow.

"You can't be serious," Kara muttered in awe as the car shut off and shuddered a moment before the back door was opened.

"Are we there?" Lena murmured sleepily as she stirred in the blast of icy air. "Thank you, Edward."

Alex naturally was loathe to break contact, but happily followed the sleepy tug at her hand, while Kara clambered out the other side. The cold was a hard, dry thing in the lungs and eyes, scraping at skin, making both Californians cough and squint.

"You're not from a cold climate, are you?" Lena asked somewhat unnecessarily as the sisters huddled miserably.

"'Fraid not," Kara volunteered. "This is prettier on a postcard than…"

Her voice trailed off as she could feel Alex's growing overwhelmed. Lena only smiled softly and moved to shove both of them at the hand carved rustic door that yawned open at their approach. 

"How…?" Kara marveled and Lena chuckled.

"Tech company, remember? Every building on every personal property is wired with cameras and sensors."

The little cabin --though the sisters certainly ogled the palatial setup-- was a favorite spot of Lena's. Once her father's man-cave of a fishing lodge, she had happily taken it over years ago as a quiet retreat. Though now that she watched the sister's gawk, she supposed it was a bit grand for just her…

There was a cheery fire roaring away, the woodbin filled to overflowing and fresh bouquets strategically placed about. Excellent.

"Welcome to my home away from home," Lena coaxed at Alex and Kara, who stuck close together and looked around as they moved further into the space. Edward asked if there was anything she needed from her condo and collected Alex hotel information and her key before slipping away. Lena shooed the sisters off to cuddle by the fire while she checked the fridge to see what had been stocked for her. She figured the bottles of fine locally crafted sodas would work and grabbed several to join the sisters on the enormous leather coach before the fireplace. There was a cozy spot beside Alex, Kara on the other side, and Lena was warmed by the space left for her.

"So where are we?" Alex asked as she automatically softened herself around the press of Lena's body.

"This is the family farm; well estate really. This is hands down my favorite place in all the world and I figured it would be more relaxing than my condo in the city."

Alex remembered the lengths they had driven from the gate to this 'cabin' and once again realized the scale of wealth she'd fallen into. Feeling very small and overwhelmed by the whole thing, she nosed against Lena's scalp, breathing in the scent of her and pressing kisses to the silky strands.

"Edward mentioned that while you were sleeping. But what city is nearby?"

"Oh, of course. We're just outside Poughkeepsie."

The blank look on both sister's faces was amusing.

"We're about sixty miles almost dead north of New York. You're not from around here are you? As if the airport weren't a dead giveaway."

"And the flip-flops," Kara joked as she perused the sodas, but Alex picked up on Lena's stress.

"Lena. I've found you now and I'm never letting you go. We'll figure something out."

It was the right thing to say and Lena twisted around to burrow into Alex's strong body, her breath shuddering in her chest. "Thank you for saying it, love." For long moments the trio cuddled before Lena spoke up again, steadier this time. "So where are you from, anyway?"

"Los Angeles."

Somehow, the information didn't surprise Lena. These two had the sort of casual disregard of formality that seemed very West Coast. Squirming around a bit until she was half-lying in Alex lap, she smiled at the two of them, relishing the returned happy expressions.

"Then I suppose I'd best say goodbye to living with true winters. That's no hardship."

"But Lee--" Alex was torn between happy and reluctant and Lena pressed a finger to her lips to stop the words.

"I will go with you, Alex, wherever you lead."

Oh, she was getting spoiled by these crushing hugs and loved every second of it. They were both so wonderfully… demonstrative.

"You hothouse flowers would not do well here."

Astonishingly, Kara spoke up before Alex could. "We'd adapt if we had too." She seemed sweetly self-conscious at Lena's sappy smile. "What? You're stuck with both of us. Weird as all this is, we'll figure it out."

And as much as Lena never would have even thought to wish for it, in finding her Soulmate, she'd also found a bonus friend.

Another peaceful lull settled over the trio for a bit and again, it was Lena that spoke up, too curious about them to politely hold her tongue. "For sisters you two don't look anything alike."

They really didn't, no similarities in the shape of their facial bones or mouth, eyes, nothing. Kara shrugged and there were old shadows in her eyes. "I'm adopted."

That was not at all what Lena expected and her expression was even more curious than before.

"My whole family died in a fire that I somehow was spared from and I was devastated in ways I still don't really have words for. Then I was all alone and in the system and just so lost and confused and distraught, but I still had my Voice and she was like a link back to myself, a reminder that I was never truly alone, no matter how it might have felt like it."

Alex headbutted Kara's blonde head affectionately, but stayed silent, her sister's story her own to tell. 

"So, a few blurry days with strangers passed and I found myself in a nice house with nice strangers and that Voice called down the stairs, grumpy and sarcastic."

The sound of Alex's low chuckle made Lena shiver in pleasant reaction, so like the indistinct Voice between her ears.

"Yeah, I didn't make a great first impression being a pissy fourteen year old, but I'd felt edgy and weird for days and then there was this strange kid being dropped off and we'd had fosters before and it was exhausting, though I'm still friends with most of them. My first Voice was a kid's and I was getting so freaked out by time passing, so much so that I didn't even think about this new kid I had to meet." The sisters grinned adoringly at one another and Lena envied them so in that moment. "It was destiny," Alex added, grabbing her sister in a loving headlock so all three of their skulls were pressed close. "I knew even before Kara spoke, I could tell by the look on her face and totally forgot to be an teenage asshole about yet another complete stranger invading my life."

"I still remember your surly face turning into that smile."

"And you were such a skinny little thing!"

"Yeah, well your Voice still cracks like a half-grown buttface in my head!"

"You still sound like a smurf!"

Lena scrambled away from Alex's lap while they tussled for a moment, laughing breathlessly and Kara turned her sunny grin to Lena. "I wouldn't let her get down about your Voice. I was so shocked when she told me, whispering about it in the middle of the night like it was a guilty secret. I didn't understand then, how unusual it was. And how much crap Alex had to put up with all her life."

Mood somber now, Alex nodded. "Yeah, I've had a lot of arguments with my mother in particular. While really, no one but Kara has ever completely believed me, Mom was the pushiest about 'giving up the illusion'."

Both Soulmates sensed giving Alex a moment, no matter how much they wanted to jump on her with hugs and reassurances. After a long moment of brooding, Alex sighed and ran her fingers through her hair before relaxing. 

"At least joining a couple platonic support groups got her off our case."

"Communication has been tough it sounds like," Lena observed quietly and Alex smiled that adoring smile and there was no stopping the tackle-hug she received.

"Me and Mom are lousy at it. But it's gonna be fun as hell to see the look on her face when she meets you!"

Kara laughed right along with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena's 'little cabin' https://www.trendir.com/floating-cabin-with-integrated-boathouse/


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to make a 'Christmas Adam' joke in here somewhere, but the flow of dialog is solid enough that it wasn't worth messing with. And the Lane dramatics clearly run in the family…
> 
> Those familiar with my work with recognize theillogicalthinker's hand in some of the dialog. -chuckle-

When Lex and his Soulmates arrived, it was with all the flash and noise Lena expected. Nearly taking the door off its hinges, Lois burst in like a whirlwind and nearly made the Danvers sisters choke on their late lunch.

"Oh my god, Mouse, they're adorable!!! Did you seriously fall into another trio like bro here? You Luthors are so extra!"

Swanning in like an old-world movie diva, Lois swept up a smiling Lena into a full-body hug. 

The sisters watched, owl-eyed, their attention torn between the python-like hug and the pair of tall, burly men that trooped in. It wasn't recognizing their faces, or the knowledge of who they were, but there was an indefinable something about these strangers that tugged at them, a completely foreign familiarity that set them as kin in a way so very few would ever understand. But first, the gregarious woman set Lena down to rush at the men like a linebacker. Lex welcomed her with open arms to be smashed between them, feet dangling well above the floor.

"Oh, Mouse," he said adoringly. "I'm so happy for you."

"I've missed you! How did you get here so fast?"

Clark chuckled then. "We were in the air within twenty minutes of your call, kiddo. Perhaps you should introduce us before we scare them half to death?"

Comically alarmed, Lena squirmed and flew to nearly tackle Alex's chair over, startling Kara by also throwing an arm around her neck. With the click of thick glass on wood, Lois set out heavy crystal tumblers and several bottles of strong drink if they were needed.

"Oh Alex, Kara, I'm sorry for the shock," Lena said fervently, trembling with high emotion and both automatically soothed her with hugs and soft murmurs. Breathing deep, Lena leaned back to scrub away a few tears. "I'm not usually such a crier." No matter that Alex and Kara looked nothing alike, their smiles were a match. Bolstered, Lena turned her attention to the silent trio watching with soft expressions. "Um, this is my brother Lex, Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Guys, meet Alex and Kara Danvers."

No one moved except for smiles until Kara waved sheepishly and set off a round of chuckles.

"Good to see you again, Alex," Lex said soothingly to the young woman he certainly remembered meeting years ago. "I see we were destined to work together after all."

"Thank you, ummm…"

"Lex is fine, Alex. We're all family now, and bonded in ways few would understand. Formalities seem a bit silly, eh?"

"I was going to say 'dramatic'," Lois sassed. "But, sure, let's go with silly."

The adoringly aggrieved look he shot her was so like Kara that Alex burst into a soggy laugh. "Thanks. And sorry, I think we're all still a little overwhelmed."

The blunt confession came with a slightly panicked flick of the eyes between the women flanking her. Without a word, Clark jumped up to grab ice cubes that Lex distributed into glasses and Lois poured a healthy dollop in each.

"Drink," she offered gently, pushing over the three cups. "To bring the stress down a notch. What you've just been through is earth-shattering." She flashed a smile to Clark and then Lex. "I remember."

Alex for one didn't even ask what the decanter of dark amber liquid was, just grabbed a glass and took a long swig. While she normally wasn't a whiskey drinker, that was good stuff. She still coughed however. While Kara sniffed at hers and Lena took a long, slow drink, Alex followed up with a more civilized sip, sputtering into it when something abruptly occurred to her.

"Wait. Lex, you're like… dammit, I knew this. Forty-five-ish." Wide-eyed, Alex turned her attention back to her new Soulmate. "And you said you remembered hearing my Voice the first time, back in 1992. And you'd been alone before then. How?"

Uncomfortable, Lena leaned away just a bit and her tone was very quiet and vulnerable. "I'll be thirty-five in a few weeks."

Both sisters blinked for a moment and it was Kara that found her voice first. "Wait, wait. Okay, so not only are you a double, but your romantic is ten years older? Shit, Alex, I think you just beat out the alleged Luthor extra."

But Alex barely heard her, pressing Lena close again, her whole expression wracked with sympathy. "Oh Lena, love, you thought you were alone for so long…"

And for all the time that had passed, for all her patience and strength of character wrought from that trauma, Lena broke in that moment, choking on a sob that came from that deep, dark place.

People died every day, at every age. There were plenty of Voiceless left with the eternal horror of a life with silence and solitude. There was no mistaking the haunted eyes, the agony of their Silence.

"I'm so sorry you were alone," Alex murmured, squeaking silent as Lena squeezed her, hard.

"No, love, no. I might have despaired then, but you gave me something so rare and precious that summer spolstice. You gave me hope. The strength that I would know you eventually was a gift."

Kara remembered not having Alex close, not knowing who that half-matured Voice belonged to. But she had never been without her. Wracked with sympathy for this welcome interloper, she leaned into their desperate cling and rubbed Lena's back.

Without taking her hands away from reassuring the rest of her Trio, Kara looked over at the older Triad. "So, umm, you're Lois Lane. Wow." When a damp-eyed Alex peeked out of Lena's hair, Kara's exasperation was so deep one would think she was the older sister. "The stupidly famous reporter from Chicago's Daily Planet? The one that inspired me to do those articles that got me the job at Catco last summer that I loved but it kept me from my paints?"

"See that, ya slimes? I'm famous," Lois said smugly and everyone's amusement rose when Lex tossed her a zinger in a poorly disguised undertone.

"Yes, but she said stupidly."

Lois didn't pull the punch she aimed at his shoulder. Lex just let his body rock to the side and grinned into his glass, clearly used to it. Huffing dramatically, Lois gave him a last dirty look and turned a mellower expression to Kara.

"In truth, I've always wanted to write about this, practically wept with the wanting--"

"Ranting is more like it," Lex muttered and ignored her glare and Clark's scoff.

"But never will."

"Me too," Kara piped up timidly and flinched at Lois' sharp look. "After what Alex has been through, everyone treating the second Voice like some sort of fake invisible friend or some such childishness, no one should have to go through that. With some scholastic research and inquiry--"

Kara's voice trailed off and her other Soulmates took instant notice of the shift in the room.

For all her high energy and witty humor, Lois looked like a traumatized child, prompting both her Soulmates to wrap her in a suffocating bear hug. In that moment, Alex felt an ache of dark kinship with this stranger that bolstered her own raw emotions. She wasn't alone.

"Never thought I'd meet someone else like me," Alex said shyly when Lois had composed herself and peeked out from the cuddle. "It was weird enough when we made friends with another sister pair like us."

Kara was happy to jump in, her voice cheerful. "And they're bio sisters, not adopted, so even wilder, huh? Laurel and Sara Lance. They're handfuls."

"They've got a hell of a story, actually. They were in a car accident when they were in their mid-twenties, a bad one. Both of them were legally dead, but brain activity refused to flatline, so the hospital kept trying. After nearly an hour, they both came back, really suddenly, and made a full recovery."

"They maintain they called one another home," Kara said with an ache in her voice that made everyone in the room shudder in empathy. After a moment, Alex cleared her throat loudly to chase back the shadows of what-if.

"They try to make light of the void of silence they both somehow remember, but it is a deep, deep horror of a memory. They're also the most irreverent, sarcastic assholes we've ever met with a weirdly healthy recklessness they make work for them."

"We love them despite it," Kara added wryly.

"I can't wait to meet them," Lena said with real sincerity, soaking up everything she could learn about her new family. 

There was a faintly uncomfortable lull then, one that Kara felt obligated to fill. "So, were you serious about maybe writing about this?"

Her gesture around the table encompassed all six of them and Lois jumped on the opening.

"About shedding some light on the phenomenon and have it be less of a cryptid monster-in-the-swamps? Hell yes I'm serious. I'm sick of feeling like a freak of nature. With two functioning sets of three, we have at least a marginal baseline suddenly and there's no way there aren't others out there. If we put in the work, it could be a Pulitzer prize to be sure!" 

Gentling, Lois smiled sweetly at the younger trio. 

"Look, I don't know you, Kara, but Cat Grant would not take on any sort of writer that didn't pass her standards. And while I have my issues with Cat, her professional values has never been one of them. So yes, me and you. We'll even make time for your painting, I promise."

Kara looked almost as delighted as she had at the airport.

"Speaking about valuable employees," Lex spoke up suddenly. "I really wish I'd taken you on, Alex. The sole reason I passed on you was that you didn't have your alphabet soup yet. How did that work out?"

"Got it last year," Alex bragged proudly and Lex nodded sagely, completely expecting that she already had her doctorate.

"And you're just twenty-five now? Damn, even I couldn't pull that off."

"That's because you were a party boy."

"Yes, thank you, Lois."

It seemed natural to gravitate over to the couches and the warm fire that they'd been feeding all day. While they slowly finished their lunches, the Danvers sisters told their story while the older trio listened avidly. Lois leaned heavily into Clark's ribs, his arm a loving drape around her, and her feet took up what was clearly a familiar spot on Lex's thighs. Similarly, Alex sat hip to hip with Kara while Lena snuggled into her opposite shoulder and smiled over frequent nuzzles to her scalp and face.

As their story wound down, Lois breathed deeply to speak. There had been no missing the ache of sympathy in her and her Soulmates, but she took a lighter tack for the time being. "I actually envy you a bit, Alex. Not only did you find Kara much younger, but never had to deal with all this weird subtext."

The two men looked aggrieved and amused and Clark actually sighed like a hound dog, prompting Lois to merrily harangue him.

"Smallville, get over it. You get me and sexy Mr. Clean? Most people would kill for that." Her deeply grey-blue eyes were alight with mischief as she stage whispered, "farmboy has never quite gotten used to having a man in his life."

Clark's long-suffering look and Lex's angelic expression set the younger trio to tittering like children. Whether she was just needling her romantic Soulmate or meant something by it was none of their business.

"Well, I've certainly punched a few rude assholes in my life for intimating things about our relationship," Alex tossed out, completely blasé, and enjoyed the various amusement and faint shock she earned. "There's always a few idiots."

One didn't have to be Lena's Soulmate to see how her expression fell, shame and hurt twisting her features. Even as Lex ached for his sister, he marveled at how finally finding her other half had opened her up. 

"Was it because of my late appearance?" Alex asked softly, leaving off her lunch to gather Lena to be held close. In that loving embrace, the old hurt seemed far away, but still a scar.

"I made some poor choices in friends and the one I thought actually cared about me turned on me when I was so excited about you."

"Veronica," Lex growled and set down his drink to rub both hands over his face and bald head. "Not that I wasn't an ass myself sometimes. I was nearly on my way out the door for college when Lena heard you for the first time, Alex. I was only seventeen myself and still alone. It would be weeks before I ironically befriended farmboy here, who introduced me to his better half, and whammo! Anyway, I've gone too far on the teasing sometimes."

"I'm happy to give him hell in your stead, Mouse," Lois chimed in cheerfully and the mood immediately lightened once more. 

"Mouse," Alex chuckled. "That's cute."

With a disgruntled noise, Lena burrowed into that bobbed hair and Alex made a noise none of the others needed to hear. A loud clearing of Lex's throat brought the new Soulmates around, but their attention was clearly wandering.

"So, I'm gonna drag the others up to the main house to settle in for the night and give Mom a call so she doesn't freak out, if that's okay?"

After thinking for a moment, Lena nodded. Lillian was no fan of surprises and the busyness of the holidays could grate on even the steadiest nerves. Reassured he hadn't overstepped, Lex jumped up and his energy pulled in the others.

"Sounds like a plan then! Kara, if you'd like to join us, you're very welcome. You can stay here, but the soundproofing might not be up to the task."

There was no mistaking his significant look and two strangers, siblings to the newly bonded pair, were in absolute accord in that moment. 

"You'll be all right," Kara murmured into hugging both Alex and Lena with all her might. The words were as much reassurance to herself as them. "Call if you need anything."

"Love you," Alex said adoringly and shared a gentle head-bonk and a grin with her sister. "Enjoy your freedom from our friskiness while you can."

"Ugh! You had to go and be gross you pig!" Kara fake-raged and returned the endearment before she followed the other Trio out into the gathering dusk.

Ignoring the urge to clean up the mess, Lena tugged Alex to her feet and led the way back to the bedroom down the hall. There was no need for words, they knew the other's Voice right down to their DNA. Now was the time for touch, taste, scent.

Yet, there was no urgency to them, no hard drive to race after any one prize. The journey was the reward, the learning the texture of soft skin and stiff scars; the ticklish places and those that made the other moan and cling. They had always been destined to meet and blend into one, but there was so much to know, history and the sound of a sleepy laugh, how the ripples of orgasm brought out the primitive parts of their brains to bond anew.

Greedy but slow, they threw aside words, time and all cares. They cuddled and bathed together and fucked until they were sore and exhausted. The solitary time settled them more into one another, the mental knots pulling tight in comfort.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's something so weirdly enticing about a good Lillian!
> 
> And yes, we're up to 10 chapters now. Eeek!

Lex had never been the intuitive sort, but he couldn't deny the tug that woke him frightfully early in the morning. A glance at the clock told him that it was a good hour before he needed to be up, but he also couldn't ignore the mental tickle that wasn't going away. It wasn't like the bond he shared with Lois, something real between his ears and lodged in his heart, his best friend and the Voice that had never let him be alone. It was more ephemeral at the edge of his consciousness, like a distant sound.

Still, he checked on his little pack first.

Even sleeping in a place other than home, neither Lois or Clark reacted to his peeking on them; they knew it was him. The familiar shapes of them in the bedding was reassurance enough. He'd spoken to Mom just hours ago and spent significant time talking her down from rushing home only to turn right back around again, so it shouldn't be her. Besides, he knew that wrangling them all a ride to Los Angeles would be keeping her busy and calm.

It had to be Lena. So he dressed warmly and headed down to the garage to hop into one of the fleet of UTVs with its winter shell keeping in the high-powered blasts of heat. The little snowplow on its nose was enough to clear the fresh powder and spiked tires kept their grip in the snow and ice.

Hoping he wasn't going to embarrass anybody including himself, Lex warily entered the lakeside cabin.

"Hello?"

Despite his unexpected appearance, Lena didn't jump. Then again, he never could sneak up on her; not in horsing around, not in chess, not in sheer academic prowess. 

"You okay there, Mouse?"

There was no mistaking the melancholy smile she quirked, not quite looking at him. To give her a moment, Lex poked his nose into the fridge to grab a soda and a container of yogurt to quiet his belly. The snack only took a few bites while he walked over and sat beside her and flung his arm over the back of the couch. It was no surprise when she burrowed into his side and sighed. For some minutes, they snuggled quietly and took comfort in one another. When Lex did speak, it was with a tone low and intimate.

"Y'know, one of the best parts about being around you? Is your innate calm."

Puzzled, Lena squirmed around to look up into her brother's face and soak up his gentle little smile.

"I can always feel myself slow down, relax, take a break from Lois' frenetic energy."

They chuckled together, because Lois had always been like that, from the moment she met Lex as a still-gawky seventeen year old nervous about being in college finally. 

"Is it ever weird for you? Being the platonic?"

Lex was actually a little surprised that she had never asked before now, as endlessly curious as Lena was. 

"Sometimes," he hedged and chose his words slowly and carefully. "We can get a little tense and stupid on the rare day, any of the three of us, but I feel like that's more outside influences if that makes any sense? That stupid stigma of platonic soulmates somehow being less than romantics is idiotic, but pervasive. As much as we'd like to, we can't always ignore that."

For long moments, Lena absorbed that and when she spoke again, she sounded like the little girl Lex remembered so very clearly. "Alex and Kara were barely teenagers when they met. More like Lois and Clark."

"Do you feel less, Mouse?"

She shrugged uncomfortably and wouldn't look at him. A sharp jostle from the arm he'd wrapped around her got a wet little laugh and her eyes were overbright when she looked up.

"That's that busy brain of yours talking. As much as it pains me to admit it, we can't rationalize everything and make it make sense. Especially this. You've waited her whole life for Alex, and better, you get a friend out of the deal in Kara. If Clark and I can manage it, you guys are gonna do great."

As though summoned, Alex wandered out, tousled haired and squinting into the bright light. For a moment she looked overprotective before gentling and it warmed Lex's heart. All he'd ever wanted for his little sister seemed to have come true in this smart, intense pup.

"Morning, Alex."

The calm greeting from the unexpected visitor coaxed Alex back to the present and she blinked and blushed lightly. Good. At least they'd clearly taken advantage of the privacy. 

"Sorry to wake you so early, but I would have been here within a half hour or so anyway. We should get back to the main house to get ready to head out."

The Luthor siblings stood, Lena going to her Soulmate to wrap her up in a hug. "And I have presents for you."

Her quiet excitement was enticing, but Alex still had to protest weakly. "But I don't--"

A hard hug squeaked her breath out and Lena's face was sweet and serious. "Take me home, Alex. Show me how to fall in love with what will be our home, our lives together, all three of us. I come from a billionaire family and things are easy. Loving you, being with you, that is a gift no money could ever buy."

Well, there was nothing to be done after that but be a good partner and follow her lead to the future.

 

\----

Of all the days to be in the city! Outraged at this turn of fortune, nonetheless Lillian had allowed herself to be talked into staying at the apartment in the city. Really, Lex was right that racing out to the estate only to turn around to head for the airport was silly. Oh, but how she wanted to fly to her children and celebrate the long-awaited final Soulmate into their family!

One of Lionel's dreadful antique cars approached, a green behemoth of an old SUV built before the things were trendy and ridiculous. It was loud and rough, but stuck to the icy ground like a burr, pulling into the hanger and right up to the open hatch where she waited. As the doors opened, a clear woman's voice she didn't know escaped the car.

"It's big and shiny and loud and --holy crap-- cold!"

"Rude, California girl!" Lois teased her as the car was emptied. "Though it can definitely be all of those things."

The stranger hunched down into a fine wool coat so new Lillian could almost smell it and muttered, "fuck this," even if Lillian had to read her lips to catch it. The taller stranger that joined her was clearly no happier with the brisk cold that whipped across the open acres of snow and concrete and into the open hanger. Lena stepped out and slung an arm around each to herd them towards the open plane while Lex and his partners began emptying the car. 

Whatever Lillian had expected for her youngest, this sweet but steely-eyed and completely adorable California girl with a fringe of brown-red hair half obscuring big, dark doe eyes who looked barely at her mid-twenties and yet with her full MD and working for a hated but grudgingly respected rival, took her pleasantly by surprise.

But then, so had Lois… and Clark.

And just like that odd not two, but three, here was Kara, the two years younger, hipster, tree-hugging artist sister with the muscled build of those dratted bicycle messengers in the city. Clearly, she was every bit as adored as her Lena, but perhaps a bit confused and at a loss with the changes wrought on her bond with Alex.

Really, it was enough to make an old woman's head spin.

For so long they had all despaired for Lena and the quiet of the Voiceless in her mind. She had been such a happy, carefree little thing until she began to understand that she was never supposed to be alone in her mind. Despair had set in too young, making the wild spark somber and quiet. 

Lillian remembered the day Lena had unexpectedly heard her Voice. At first she'd thought the screaming and carrying on to be a child's nightmares, what with her brother leaving for college her stress was liable to manifest. Instead, the family had been overjoyed for their youngest, dancing about in their pajamas in the wee hours of morning in celebration. 

They'd always coddled Lena a bit, first for her loneliness and then later, for the long wait she was in for as her Soulmate grew up. The rarity of the enormous age gap faded in the shock of Lex's Trio, but now, their extraordinary youngest had inadvertently trumped him. 

It did their old mom proud. Lionel would have laughed in sheer delight and hugged his daughter until she squirmed. While Lillian was rarely the touchy-feely sort, she gathered Lena to her in a long, soulful cuddle that Lex leaned into, cradling his sister between their larger bodies.

"It's a company plane, not a shark," Lois teased the newcomers, but the Luthors ignored them all for the moment.

"I'm so happy for you," Lillian murmured before amusement colored her tone. "Your girls look like they're about to shiver themselves right off their feet. Come inside everyone."

Both Alex and Kara were still gawking at the big Gulfstream g650 in its coat of silver gray and tail resplendent with the stylized, geometric L the was the company symbol in rich purple and a bit of black for weight. 'LuthorCorp' and some pinstriping down the sides was low-key by comparison. Up the stairs was the galley, a smiling crewmember to greet them, the forward lavatory and the door leading into the main compartment. There was space enough for twice their numbers and Kara squeaked, "is that a bed back there?"

"This plane has a seven thousand mile range," Lena explained as she negligently slung her bag onto a forward seats. "Sleep, good food and entertainment are often a necessity."

"And I thought first class was fancy…"

Lex rushed in with the whirr of servos behind him indicating the steps raising to become the plane's door. "Okay, the car's stashed and the luggage is in the back. Let's get this show on the road!"

Between de-icing the fuselage and waiting in queue, there was some time to kill. With slightly wary formality, the Danvers sisters met the clan matriarch with firm handshakes and solid eye contact. Good, Lillian approved of boldness in addition to brains and her babies deserved the best!

While clearly exhausted of the whole thing, the Danvers sisters nonetheless told their stories to Lillian while the big Gulfstream waited its turn to take to the skies. Lillian listened to every word with practiced patience, quietly horrified what these young women had been through. 

"Kara's always been the laid-back, cheerful sort with a fuse that runs to Mars and back. But god help you if you actually piss her off."

The adoration in Alex's teasing was obvious from orbit, the sisters as close as Soulmates should be. Lena was clearly both fascinated and wistful where she snuggled into Alex's shoulder and was content to be quiet and close. 

Kara chuckled at the ribbing and gave Alex a mock punch to the free shoulder. "And you're explosive, but calm quickly. The pace-and-rant, sugar-vacuum stress-eater sort, which cracks me up. I can't tell you how many times I just handed over donuts while she walked in circles and ranted over something. Not the least of which was you, Lena."

"We spar a lot. The grouchy, tireless night owl and the sunny, laid back painter."

Lena just smiled and looked eager to find out more. It was a reminder that Lillian had completed her last visceral act as a mother. She had gotten her youngest child far enough along to have this moment, when someone would step in and be her missing piece. In this moment, she felt the Silence in her soul more keenly then the constant dull ache of missing her Lionel.

It was not a wound that time could ever heal.

"We lost their father too young," she answered the unspoken question in the sister's fresh young faces. "Heart failure. One learns to carry on in the silence."

May they all be spared it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I have the bones of the epilogue, it's been slow going. As soon as it comes together, you'll have it!

For all their cheerful-ish compliance with the unknowns around them, the sister's relief was clear when the steward appeared to ask them to buckle up and prepare for takeoff, stashing their loose things and vanishing back to his own seat. Each trio took one of the aisle-facing couches and held hands as the Gulfstream eased into place and the engines wound up. Then it was the pressure of high speeds and the earth falling away as the plane climbed steeply into the dreary morning sky.

The Luthors chatted amiably about business and their high-pressure social circles while the sisters twisted in their seatbelts to try and see out the windows behind them.

"I'll take it as a lucky break that we get to steal you away from Lord and not Bruce," Lex's amused comment pulled Alex's attention around as the plane broke through the clouds and leveled off. Lena laughed and rubbed her new Soulmate's back, enjoying the murmur of her busy mind in its complex dance with her own consciousness. 

Leveling a sharp look at Lex, Alex said disbelievingly, "wait, you know Bruce Wayne?"

"Of course. There aren't many that run our circles and fewer still that we like."

"And fewer still that we trust," Lillian added dryly. "Max Lord qualifies only for the first point. Bruce on all three."

"I look forward to sparring with Maxie on his own turf," Lena chortled and there was a hard edge to her then that was both scary and sexy.

"Well shit..." Alex said in slightly floored acceptance over what she had fallen into by chance, then shook it off. "I met him at a conference last year, ironically through Max. Smart guy, intimidating stare. Had that vibe that made you want to confess every bad thing you'd ever done; like a comic book priest, y'know? But his coworker? Drop dead sexy hot, yowza. Nice too, made you feel like the center of the universe when you spoke with her. No forgetting that mix of looks and raw charisma."

"Oh, you mean Diana," Lex supplied helpfully before Alex could go on and there was no missing how Lena's cheeks were getting redder and redder.

"I see you know the lady!" Alex cackled and leaned in to kiss at Lena's ear and whisper seductively, "you totally wished it was her when you met her, right?"

"She's difficult to forget," Lex said pointedly to distract Alex away from the attentions that was putting that look on his baby sister's face. "Voiceless too. But somehow it only makes her stronger and kinder. It's the damnest thing. She might be strikingly beautiful, but spend a little time with her and it's the soul you remember, not the looks or the loss."

As any mention of the Voiceless did, it sent a chill through everyone, none more so than Lillian. In an attempt at solidarity, Kara spoke up somberly. 

"My Aunt Astra was Voiceless, always had been. There was something so sad and heavy, but strong about her. Like everything was too much for just her soul, alone. I adored her. She loved fiercely, but sorta, I dunno, hands off? Like she never thought she was doing it right. Being an identical twin made it easier when they were young, but I know now that it also drove them apart. Even when I was little, the strain between my mother and aunt was hard to watch. My folks were intellectuals and I came along sorta late, in their mid thirties. They never really understood how artistic I am, but were still supportive."

"Mom's like that too," Alex supplied and leaned away from Lena to Kara to comfort. "Confused but supportive."

The flash of hurt lingering around her edges spoke of a deep hurt, but no one asked after it. Not that Alex gave them a chance, her hurt morphing into thoughtfulness.

"I wonder if being a lifelong Voiceless might not have an effect on a person in a physiological manner," Alex mused, her brows knitting in thought. "With the bond being such primitive brain business, a lack of the stimulation of the Soulmate bond could theoretically retard brain development."

That was all the warning her new companions got as she went rambling off on some intellectual tear, frantically patting at her pockets. Kara just sighed and handed over her phone, which Alex started tapping at, muttering to herself.

"Carry on amongst yourselves," Kara said and pet Alex's head, garnering no response. "She'll be gone for awhile."

The others watched Alex for a minute of bemused amusement before Lois randomly spoke up. "When I was a kid, I wondered what would happen if your Soulmate spoke a different language." 

"That's a legitimate question for a kid," Kara agreed. "It takes everyone some time to realize that the bond has no words, just the cadence of speech, the intent and emotion behind the words."

"I do love that laughter comes through," Clark added in an adoring tone that earned him a kiss. "You have the most beautiful laugh."

"And singing," Lena added softly, nuzzling at Alex's hair and feeling the buzz of pleasure through their bond. Proof that she had actually been listening, Alex distractedly added in her two cents.

"More proof of the Soulmate Bond being deeply primitive. Science backs that because there is clearly traceable activity in the central brain in periods of high activity between Soulmates, as proof of what areas are being stimulated and the language centers are not included in that. Not actively."

While she nattered on, Kara rolled her eyes and Lena looked completely twitterpated with the smart pup. It was completely adorable.

Lost in her building theories and muttering over the notes she was thumb-typing frantically into Kara's phone, Alex took some time to notice that she was alone on the couch. Having gotten the raw bullet points of her thoughts down, a jaw-cracking yawn made her eyes water and had the added benefit of relieving much of the pressure in her inner ears.

"Didn't sleep much, huh?" Kara sassed as she stepped over with a glass of juice and smirked deeply at how her older sister colored. "I bet. I was restless too, though not like you, dirty bird. I'm glad we're going home."

Lena was chatting with the others, but noticed that the sisters looked tired. Frankly, so was she. For a moment, she felt weird about joining them. They were still strangers in so many ways, for while the Soulmate bond provided a great many intimacies, only time and hard work would build them into truly deep and meaningful relationships. With that in mind, Lena excused herself and stepped over to Kara's side.

"I could use a nap myself. Would you like to join me? We'll crowd that bed, but I bet we can manage."

Kara looked startled when Lena grinned at her. "Me too?"

"Of course Kara. You'll never be excluded."

When she blushed as hard as Alex did, Kara's smile was utterly delighted. "Except for that, huh?"

With a merry laugh, Kara herded her Soulmates into the back of the plane so they could dogpile the bed there and get in a steadying nap.

Waking abruptly, Alex was utterly disoriented for a long moment, even as Lena's warmth against her was viscerally calming. But Kara was missing, and there was an unhappy vibe to the bond between them. Rolling over and half sitting up, Alex looked around and sure enough, there was her sister, sprawled out in the chair opposite the bed and staring pensively out the window.

"Kara, are you okay?"

Squirming a bit, it took a moment for Kara to look at her sister, and there was conflict and a bit of mourning in her blue eyes. "I feel like a jerk."

Not what Alex had been expecting and she blinked for a moment before smiling gently and standing up from the bed. "I can attest that you are the least jerky person I've ever known, puppy child."

The dumb moniker earned her a mock scowl, but not the smile she was hoping for.

"I have to share you now."

Oh. That.

"I always knew it was gonna happen, but I'm-- we're here now and it's… it's…"

"Jarring?"

"Yeah, jarring is good. I don't hate it, it just feels so weird."

"Hey. For me too."

Clearly, Kara had not expected that confession. "Really?"

"Well sure. Everyone's been telling me my whole life that maybe I was imagining it, maybe she wasn't real. But more than that, her voice and the reality of her is a hell of a shock. Just like you were. Oh, the best shock, sure, but still a shock."

No one could give a joint-cracking hug like Kara. 

Lena woke to the uncomfortable sensation of being alone. Yet, she would never be alone again, the press of Alex's excited comfort a living presence in her mind and soul. Rather than fly to Alex's side the way she wanted to, Lena remained relaxed and still, listening to the sisters talk.

Lena fully understood the unnerving aspects of this whole event, to be sure, but her life had always been rife with oddity. Besides, Lex had the precedent of being in a trio. So once again, Lena was in the shadow of those who came before her. Such a wonderful event shouldn't be tainted with her feeling like somehow, once again, she didn't measure up. Of course, the self-castigating only made her feel worse.

Lex's admitting that sometimes he felt like this too, as though he weren't good enough for a 'full' Soulmate, that they had to share, was some small comfort. Still, it rankled on some immature level.

"I'm still shaken up that I could have missed her, Kara. Like forever!"

The edge of unsteady horror in Alex's voice instantly made Lena forget her own silly dramas, rolling over and tossing back the covers even as Kara provided easy comfort. "But you didn't, Alex. It's okay. You found her. The universe brought you to her."

Wrestling with her own demons of inadequacy, Lena remained frozen, unwilling to impose herself in their established dynamic and the hug that had Alex tipped sloppily into her sister's lap. And too, Alex's expression was nervous and unnerved, an animal need that Lena found strangely soothing. 

She wasn't alone in feeling unsettled, in feeling these negative things.

Lena welcomed Alex's rush at her, the way the lanky body straddled her thighs so that they could full-body hug, lost in the feel and scents of one another.

And when Lena gestured blindly for Kara to join them, despite all the steps they all had to take together, all that they had to learn…

They were complete.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not the best choice for Valentine's Day, but here we go anyway! Hope those of you with sweetie's enjoy yourselves!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: The description of Kara's painting is nearly word-for-word the original rambling I did for the idea. It's nice to already have something so perfect.
> 
> [10:29:48 PM] Shatterpath: though lots of people die every day, so there are plenty of Voiceless  
> [10:30:18 PM] Geekystorytelling: You can tell by the haunted look in their eyes  
> [10:30:30 PM] Shatterpath: i also think this is a realty with fewer reckless people and less religion. yes, their haunted eyes are hard to miss
> 
> (The flight is 6.5 hours)

Aside from some shaky turbulence over the Rockies, the flight was uneventful. Sleepy-eyed but better rested, the new Trio toddled out to join the others and eagerly agreed to a meal. The steward produced a table and post so they could take over their couch again and brought coffee and hot water for tea. The gang was enjoying a light brunch amidst the sunshine above the clouds when the captain announced they would be landing at Bob Hope airport inside the half hour.

Nearly a minute later, Kara stopped chewing and looked faintly alarmed, which caught the attention of the rest of her little pack.

"Burbank," she said simply and both Alex and Lena looked puzzled.

"What, you think the plane is too big?" Alex teased and then her eyes rounded as well. "Oh crap! We're in LA!"

That caught everyone else's attention, their puzzlement deepening at the sister's childish laughter.

"Sorry, it's just, the folks are in Midvale."

It didn't register what Kara meant until Alex added, "Which is about forty-five minutes north of San Francisco."

"But you said you live in Los Angeles," Lena said a little helplessly before it clicked. "Oh, but your parents don't. Crap."

Again the sisters laughed, Alex hugging and kissing her new Soulmate. "You know what? They can come to us. They're outnumbered this year."

\----

**AUTHOR BREAK**  
Okay, so I've been staring at this damn thing for nearly a month and it's like an itch I can't scratch. So! Here are the highlights I'm skipping over so that I can wrap this up.

Having established earlier in this tale that Eliza in particular has been dismissive of Alex's second Voice, needless to say that particular phone call goes… interesting. On the angsty, she sighs and exhaustedly accuses Alex of making it up and when Lena takes the phone, Eliza actually accuses this stranger of being in on this ridiculous drama. Yeah, there's a reason I've been fighting with this.

So let's pretend that the news goes over better and the Luthors manage to swing helicopter transportation to get Eliza and Jeremiah to Los Angeles by evening. As a consolation, here's some notes and dialog snippets to get a peek into my head.

Shatterpath: Alex's family was always a bit disbelieving of that second voice. it's THAT rare. even Alex was half convinced she was a mirage that wouldn't leave her  
Geekystorytelling: Eliza not believing Alex? Not hard to believe. Grandma Danvers being the only one to really tell her that she believed her?  
Shatterpath: not so much flat-out disbelieving, but Alex could tell they were humoring her  
Geekystorytelling: Ooof which is kinda even harder  
Shatterpath: agreed. like, is she doing it for attention? Is it real? No one was sure  
Geekystorytelling: I can imagine alex being confused too and if they are humoring her that she would just shut up about it. Withdraw

"Do you know what I remember about this Mom? Overhearing you talking with Gramma, telling her how worried you were about my making lies up to get attention. I was eight, Mom, eight goddamn years old and I learned to lie, to shut the hell up and hide." (sobs, then squares up again) "And until then, I thought at least Gram believed me, at least she'd listen. I ran off then, didn't get that damn permission slip signed and missed a field trip to the museum the next day.

It shouldn't have hurt how relieved you were when Kara came, but then you walked in that first night to see if we needed and you tainted our bonding because I sure as hell didn't miss the look on your face when you heard me telling her about my second voice. I almost shut down again, but Kara's nothing if not persistent and gave me the first outlet I'd ever had to talk about it after so damn long!

Sure, you wanted me to be extraordinary, pushed me hard, maybe even too hard, but you only wanted me to be extraordinary in a way that didn't challenge your quantifications. So, you know what? Fuck you and your shitty attitude! God, I've wanted to say something like that for twenty years!"

(Alex storms out, upset, Lena goes after her, the others stay to talk to Eliza. Lillian has the best words.)  
"Having an extraordinary child or two is never easy. Their paths are always convoluted and hard for us to figure out how to help them navigate. God knows I made mistakes. I'm just thankful neither of mine became psychopaths, as we Luthors are prone to dramatics and excess."

(Later, when Alex and Eliza talk.)  
"I'm so sorry," Eliza whispered, all the years of refusing to see how her insistence on logic had hurt her daughter so. "I… I have no excuse. I was an idiot."  
"I don't know if I can just… let this all go, Mom, but we sure as hell have to try. How about you use that devil's advocate logic to give Kara and Lois something to push against for research? They want to write a Pulitzer prize winner about Trios."  
"Anything for you."

**Author again!** \- Now! All writer's block dramatics aside, this was my original ending. Let's pretend they're all in a hotel somewhere, or rental house or whatever, so that can all be together for the holiday. Eventually, the family members head home and Alex and Kara bring Lena home.

 

\----

It wasn't until days later that the Trio finally got to see Kara's forgotten painting. Lena took in the sister's large industrial loft with its towering ceilings and enormous windows full of light thrown over comfortable, mismatched furniture and objects. It suited them perfectly and she sincerely hoped held room enough for her more refined tastes. But she instantly forgot about that, stopped listening to their words, caught by the painting.

It was a cityscape, only at a weird angle, as though the viewer were a bird amidst the skyscrapers. It looked like New York to Lena, though not the real New York, but a dreamscape one, not quite real. Much of the buildings and urban landscape were barely outlined, hinted at shapes and shadows. Kara had clearly been working on layers of color in the sunset when her hand faltered and skittered violently down the canvas, leaving behind a lightning bolt of bloody red that faded away to nothing.

Forever her shock in her sister-soulmate gasping, "Kara I found her," trapped in that streak of color through it where she was so shocked she dragged the brush and ruined it.

And yet… it wasn't ruined at all.

Lena didn't even notice that she'd reached out towards it until Kara said gently, "go ahead. It's dry enough by now if you're gentle."

Feather-soft, Lena let the whorls of her fingertips trace the frozen shapes and shades of oil and pigment. 

"There's such a beauty and urgency to it, just like this." Green eyes fell to the fallen paintbrush, frozen forever in a jacket of red and a rim of other sunset colors. Picking it up, Lena spun it slowly between her fingertips and offered a slow smile to her new friend. "Not many people get such a wonderful memory. I'll have a matching frame made. Perhaps something half done as well? Raw wood on one side, fading to shaped and stained on the other side? And we can get a classy spotlight and add the brush here to it, for sentimental value."

The sister's paired smiles were pure warmth and Kara said quietly, "I think that would be a wonderful Christmas gift for all of us."

Too keyed up, but in desperate need of some peace and quiet, there was no hesitation to declare a quiet night in. Lena was reminded of her college days when she was handed a set of worn-soft sweats, fuzzy socks and told to get comfy while the sisters ordered pizza.

"And a salad!" she called over her shoulder and chuckled at their gagging noises.

Despite it being surprisingly good pizza, Lena still gave her Soulmates a hard time about it. As a born New Yorker, it was her sacred duty, after all. How either sister had room for ice cream after the feast boggled Lena's mind and they laughed at her disbelieving stare and Alex's kiss tasted of mint and chocolate.

Lena could have never foreseen being dropped into the middle of this weird, adoring little sister-pack, full of tragedy and love and success. Nor could the sisters have foreseen how they met, or how they would meet Lena herself, this seemingly snooty socialite who was warm and sweet and funny.

They would be a good match, a strong pack of similarities and differences, reflected in how they easily piled onto the big sofa for a movie. Lena nestled into Alex body, ear over that strong heart and her toes tucked under Kara's warm thigh, while Alex pet dark hair and periodically teased her sister, Kara returning the sass and doling out random warm touches.

None of them would want it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: One last set of notes, because you have to admit, this is pretty damn funny!  
> Shatterpath: (Of Lois being in her trio and making Lucy feel inadequate yet again) AND, it leads to Lucy being estranged in that 'not good enough' way  
> Geekystorytelling: Omg Lucy is in this?  
> Shatterpath: or her voice sounds a little elderly. Which means it could be DECADES before she finds hers. every scenario exists somewhere. so her damn sister gets TWO at 19 and Lucy has to wait forever  
> Geekystorytelling: Oh god that’s sad as fuck. Also explains Lucy’s wild side. She has a long time to kill before she meets hers. She just wasn’t expecting her soulmate to be an actor when she meets them. So the voice is old  
> Shatterpath: ha! Or has a sickness that ruined his/her voice  
> Geekystorytelling: But it’s because it’s for the part. Yes. Exactly  
> Shatterpath: was a professional singer and wrecked their voice  
> Geekystorytelling: All the angst but with a happy ending. Her soulmate is Siobhan. LOL banshee af  
> Shatterpath: BAHAHAHAHAH! "Hey lady, you need some help catching a cab?" a silent nod and a raspy thank you as she steps into the cab. Boom  
> Geekystorytelling: Cab drives away, Lucy chases  
> Shatterpath: technically, her question gives away her voice and the stranger grabs her, eyes huge in her face. roughly clears her throat, voice barely a whisper. AWWWWWW. BAHAHAHHAHA! She only has laryngitis! And will be fine! HAHAHAHAHAH! Lucy, you drama queen. Lucy will forever hear her sickness voice in her head. Classic. and totally Siobhan. Done  
> Geekystorytelling: Lucy will also always carry lozenges on her. Lucy/Siobhan bahhhahahha. I’m dead  
> Shatterpath: there's The Randomest Pair  
> Geekystorytelling: Seriously


End file.
